Acting CEO Randy Abbey says balancing the books will take time as Cocobod drowns in debt – Nsemkeka
The Acting CEO of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Dr. Randy Abbey, says balancing the books at the struggling state institution is a long road, but one that has already begun.
Speaking on PM Express Business Edition on Joy News on Thursday, June 5, he painted a sobering picture of COCOBOD’s financial position, highlighting staggering debt levels, pending obligations, and the burden of legacy contracts.
“Our first task was to look at how we’re going to deal with it, and the projections we made were that by year four, we should be fine,” he said. “Now we have to redo the books in view of the cedi appreciation.”
Dr. Abbey revealed that the last time he checked, COCOBOD’s total liabilities stood at close to $33 billion.
He, however, noted that this figure might slightly reduce depending on the performance of the local currency. “I have to redo it now, because the dollar components might go down,” he explained.
“The dollar components that are payable in cedi might go down as a result of the performance of the cedi or the strength of the cedi now. So we’d have to look at that.”
He clarified misconceptions about the Cocoa Roads project.
“Anytime we mention the Cocoa Roads’ $21 billion, people assume that the $21 billion is part of the $33 billion. No, it is not. It is only $4.4 billion, which are certificates raised and sitting at our cash office,” he said.
“Of the about $33 billion we’re talking about, the component of Cocoa Roads is just $4.4 billion, which is certificates—work executed and certificates presented for payment.”
He stressed that the remaining Cocoa Roads contracts were either not executed or had no certificates raised.
“That is where the rationalisation is focused on, in trying to see which of them we can cancel, which of them can be offloaded to the ministry and all that, which of them can be varied. That’s the exercise that has been done.”
Dr. Abbey described the daily financial pressure at COCOBOD as relentless.
“I’m sure that when you got here, you waited for about an hour. All those you saw leaving my office were companies that we owed. The banks are chasing them and all that.
“And they have also come here to chase us. Every day, I’m dealing with either solicitor letters or court issues. And it’s about people that we owe.”
He revealed that the organisation owes agrochemical suppliers over $400 million, and that many contractors and vendors have gone unpaid for years. “We’ve owed people for four years, for three years, for two years, for a year,” he said.
The acting CEO also disclosed a shocking contract issued in December 2024 for $48 million worth of jute sacks.
“Even in December, they [previous NPP administration] were signing contracts. And even January, you know, they were doing… I’m sure you’ve heard about the jute sacks,” he said.
“They issued an irrevocable letter of credit, $48 million in December of 2024, when the paper documents show that they had imported jute sacks and over 110,000 have not been cleared over three years.
“Yet they still decided to award a contract for 80,000 bales of jute sacks valued at $48 million and issued an irrevocable letter of credit on our account at the Ghana International Bank in London.”
He said the financial structure of the letter of credit meant payment would be made regardless of current conditions.
“Those 80,000 bales have started arriving. And once the bill of ladings are presented to us and given to the bank by the structure of the irrevocable LC, the $48 million will be given to the company. That is how this place was run.”
Despite the crisis, Dr. Abbey said there is a path forward.
“Now we have to redo the books in view of the cedi appreciation,” he said, indicating that while painful, the restructuring and re-evaluation processes are key to restoring financial discipline and eventual stability.